Bottle carrier



June 5, 1962 L. c. GISH BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Feb. 12, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z36 23a Z46 32 Z40.

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3maentot Cittomeg June 5, 1962 L. c. GISH 3,037,661

BOTTLE CARRIER F iled Feb. 12, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Bnnentor Trial June 5, .1962 R Y L. c. GlSH 3,037,

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Feb. 12, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 llb lllll" l Snventor Qttorneg 3,037,661 BQTTLE CARRIER Lyman C. Gish, Rittman, Ohio, assignor to Packaging Corporation of America, Rittman, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 8,389 6 Claims. (Cl. 220-113) This invention relates to cartons made of paperboard or other appropriate sheet material and it is directed particularly to structural and functional modifications of bottle carrier cartons of the type shown generally in the patents of Michael H. Kowal No. 2,692,700, granted October 26, 1954 and No. 2,712,397, granted July 5, 1955, and particularly in applicants copending application for patent for Bottle Carrier, filed March 12, 1959, Serial No. 798,942, now Patent No. 2,996,216, granted August 15, 1961, and his application with a similar title of invention filed January 4, 1960, Serial No. 2,471.

The bottle carrier cartons disclosed in these patents and in the copendingapplications for patent, above noted, may be so designed and proportioned as to accommodate them to the packaging of bottles of various styles and dimensions, the two styles most prevalent being the standard tall bottle, such as a soft-drink bottle, which has a relatively long neck, and the stubby bottle which has a relatively short neck, such as the non-returnable, or throw-away, beer bottle.

In the carrier cartons for tall bottles there is a sufiicient extent of handle member above the transverse partition straps to make possible provision of adequate lamellar reinforcement in the area of the handle member surrounding the customary hand hole. However, in the carrier cartons for stubby bottles this extended type of handle member is not necessary in order to provide a suitable carrier, and it is, moreover, undesirable from the standpoint of economy in sheet material required to produce the cartons for the stubby bottles and also in relation to the space occupied by the filled cartons during shipment and storage.

Thus, when the extent of handle member above the transverse partition straps is curtailed in proper accomodation to the short necks of the stubby bottles, proper reinforcement of the handle member in the area of the hand hole presents a problem.

One object of the present invention is to provide a solution for this problem, and this is effected by certain modifications in the design and mode of assembly of the carton blanks of the patents and the copending applications hereinbefore referred to.

A further object of the invention is to meet the requirement of the rule respecting shipment of bottles by railway transport which calls for a thickness of paperboard of at least 40 points (.040") between bottles and this is accomplished by a further modification of the carrier cartons of the inventions referred to.

Although the handle-reinforcing refinements of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings are shown in combination with a carrier carton having a full depth longitudinal center partition member, and full depth transverse partition members, of the types shown generally in the aforementioned applications filed March 12, 1959, Serial No. 798,942, now Patent No. 2,996,216, and filed January 14, 1959, Serial No. 2,471, respectively, it will be understood that these refinements are applicable also to carrier cartons of the types disclosed in the Kowal Patents Nos. 2,692,700 and 2,712,397 wherein the full depth longitudinal and transverse partition members are absent but which cartons may have their handle members, particularly, properly proportioned for service with the stubby bottles.

Thus, another object is to provide in an integral sheet material blank parts, defined by cuts and folding scores, which, in the assembled, and ultimately erected, carrier will form the desired handle-reinforcing elements, and the blank may be provided also with means defining the central partition member from an area of the blank which would normally constitute scrap, and there may be provided, also, elements to form the said transverse partition members formed, at least in part, from scrap areas of said blank and adapted to be assembled with the blank.

Furthermore, as disclosed in the aforesaid application filed January 14, 1960, Serial No. 2,471, the transverse partition members may be provided as individual elements fed and applied to the fiat blank during the assembling and gluing operation, or as integers comprising two of the said members which may be separated into the individual elements during such operation, or as integers of two of the said members in which the said members are defined from each other by lines of fracture to the end that the members of each such last described integer may be simultaneously properly located upon the flat blank and thus maintained during assembly of the blank to ultimate carrier form, but may separate upon such lines of fracture upsn erection of the carton for use, the form that the said transverse partition members may take being dictated by choice of the manufacturer and the type of assembling and gluing machine used.

With these and other objects in View, as will be ap parent from the following description, the invention comprises a carrier carton, particularly for bottles, and the sheet material elements of a blank for forming such carrier, including a bottom wall, side walls joined to the longitudinal edges of the bottom wall along appropriate folding scores, end wall sections joined to the end edges of the side walls and connected together substantially medially of the bottom wall to provide full end walls spanning the ends of the bottom wall between the side walls, a handle member disposed medially of the bottom and side walls and provided with means defining a hand hole, bottle compartment separator straps arranged in spaced relation to each other and to the end walls and transversely spanning the spaces between and connected with the side walls and handle member, and means integral with the blank and foldable into flanking relation to the longitudinal ends of the hand hole to reinforce said hand hole; and the carrier of the invention may include, also, transverse partition members carried by said compartment separator straps and extending downwardly therefrom into proximity to the bottom wall, and a partition member constituting a downward extension of said handle member and serving, with said transverse partition members, to divide the interior of the carrier into a plurality of separate, fully walled cells, all as will be explained herinafter more fully and finally claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated,

FIG. 1 is a plan vie-w of the inner face of a sheet material blank from which the carton of the inventtion is constructed,

FIG. 1a is a plan view of one form of the two elements for providing the individual transverse partition members for the six-cell carton shown and in which such individual members are defined from each other by a pre-formed line of fracture,

FIGS. 1b and 1c are similar plan views of alternative forms of transverse partition members,

FIG. 1d is a plan view of a suitable patch member for attachment to the central partition member to provide adequate thickness thereof between adjacent bottles,

FIGS. 2 to 5 are views similar to FIG. 1, but drawn to a smaller scale, showing the progressive steps of assembling, folding and adhesively securing the various parts of the blank, including transverse partition forming elements of the type shown in FIG. la prior to its final folding and securing,

FIGS. 6 and 7 show one of the outer faces of the finally fiat-folded and secured blank assembled from the parts shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the opposite sides and ends of the erected carrier carton of the assembly of FIGS. 2 to 7.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, it will be Seen that the flat blank includes a bottom wall comprising relatively foldable halves 1a and 1b joined along a longitudinal folding score 2, and at the opposite longitudinal edges of this dual bottom wall are side walls 3a and 3b joined to such edges along folding scores 4a and 4b. At the opposite end edges of the side walls 3a and 3b and joined thereto along folding scores 5a, 5a and 5b, 5b are end wall sections 6a, 6a and 6b, 6b provided, respectively, with complemental connecting flaps 7a, 7a and 7b, 7b which may be folded upon their respective folding scores 8a, 8a and 8b, 8b so that they may be adhesively secured together in pairs for completing the end walls from the end wall section 6a6b and 6a'6b' when the blank is given its final assembly fold (FIGS. 6 and 7).

Extending outwardly in the blank from the side walls 3a and 3b, and offset longitudinally thereof, are handle members 9a and 9b, provided, respectively, with cuts 90, 9d and 9e, 9 and flap-folding scores 9g, 9h to form hand holes. The handle members Sc: and 9b are defined from their side walls by cuts 10a and 1017 at which the hand hole cuts 90, 9d and 9e, 91 terminate, and are connected to such side walls by separator straps 11a, 11a and 11b, 11b hinged on folding scores 12a, 12a and 12b, 12b. The separator straps 11a and 11b are connected to the handle members 9a and 9b on folding scores 13:: and 13b, and the separator straps 11a and 1112 are connected to foldable handle reinforcing elements 14a and 14b, respectively, on folding scores 15a and 15b. Cuts 16a, 16a and 16b, 16b separate the straps 11a, 11a and 11b, 11b from their respective side walls, and cuts 17a and 17b separate the straps 11a and 11b from their respective structural elements 14a and 14b.

The handle member 9b is provided with a finish flap 18 foldable upon a folding score 19 over an extension 20 on the handle member 9a, the thus folded flap 18 being appropriately secured, in the assembled blank, as by adhesive, to the extension 20 to provide a stiffening and reinforcing means for the handle assembly.

All of the elements of the blank thus far described have their structural and functional counterparts, disclosed in a slightly different form, in the Kowal Patent No. 2,692,700 hereinabove referred to.

Attached to the straps 11a and 11b and to their adjacent handle reinforcing elements 14a and 14b and foldable with relation thereto on the folding scores 15a and 15b and aligned continuations thereof 15c and 15d are additional handle reinforcing members 21 and 22, respectively, which serve also as securing flaps for the transverse partition straps 11a and 11b, and are adapted, when properly folded on the scores 15a-15c and 15b 15d, to border the adjacent longitudinal end edges of the hand holes defined by the cuts 9c and 9e, as will later appear.

In order that the end flaps 7a and 7b may properly mate with, but not overlap, the previously folded reinforcing members or flaps 21 and 22, and will not thereby produce undue lamination or interfere with the proper application of adhesive during the gluing operation, these flaps 7a and 7b are cut away at their outer, upper corners by angularly intersecting cuts 23a, 24a and 23b, 24b.

Preferably the end wall elements 7a and 7b will be provided with cuts defining ultimately mating and adhesively joined hooks 25a and 25b engageable with an adjacent edge 26 of the bottom wall 1a, 1b to serve in locking the carton in erected condition with its bottom wall portions 1a and 1b in substantially flat coplanar arrangement.

As hereinbefore stated the carrier carton of the invention is preferably provided with a longitudinal center partition extending from the handle portion to the bottom wall of the erected carrier without increasing the usual area of the blank for a carton of this general character. In other Words the center partition will be formed from parts of the blank which would normally constitute scrap, and they are so arranged and connected together and to other elements of the carton structure, particularly those forming the end walls and handle member, as not only to produce the desired partition but also to make the whole erected carton stronger and more rigid and the handle member better adapted to support the load of the filled carton. Furthermore, the connection of these partition forming elements to the handle members makes them serve, with the joined handle members, to form a combined partition and handle member.

To this end, the portion of the blank which lies between the proximate ends of the end wall elements 6a and 6b, and which in the assembled blank forms the partition panel 27, is severed upon a cut 23 defining one of its edges 28 and the bottom edge of the end wall element 6b, and upon the cut 26 which forms another one of its edges 29 as well as the aforementioned end edge of the bottom wall elements 1a and 1b. The panel 27 has its third edge separated from the blank by a cut 30 which also forms the bottom edge of the end wall element 6n, and a tab 31 provided by a cut 31, which serves also to define the hook 25a, is joined along a diagonal folding score 32 to the securing flap 7a of the end wall element 6a.

A handle reinforcing extension 33 is formed as a part of the structural element 14b and is foldable therewith upon a folding score 34 aligned with the folding score 12b of the separator strap 11b. The structural element 14a is foldable upon a folding score 35 aligned with the folding score 12a of the separator strap 11a. The folding scores 34 and 35 define complemental end edges of the handle members 9a and 9b.

Diagonal cuts 36a and 36b which extend between the folding scores 5a, 8a and 5b, 8b of the end wall elements 6a and 6b respectively, serve to sever these elements for pivotal or hinging movement relative to the handle members 9a and 9b upon erection of the carton to usable form. Similar diagonal cuts 37a and 37b to serve to sever the reinforcing members 21 and 22 from the end wall elements 6a and 6b.

Having reference to FIG. 1a, it will be seen that the form of the blanks comprising the elements from which the transverse partition members are provided, and which constitute an example of one preferred embodiment thereof each includes a pair 38a, 38b of such members, the members 38a and 38b being separable upon a line of fracture composed of a plurality of spaced cuts 39 extending between the apexes of V-cuts 40 which extend inwardly from its upper and lower edges.

These dual elements comprising the transverse partition members 38a and 38b are of such size that they may be formed from the scrap normally discarded in the blanking out of cartons, and it will be noted that at least one of the elements may be formed from the scrap discarded from the space lying between the end wall sections 6a and 6b and the adjacent edge of the bottom wall 1a, 1b, FIG. 1.

The procedure for assembling the blank of FIG. 1, or the blank elements of FIGS. 1, la and 1d to completed flat-folded form (FIGS. 6 and 7) from which it may be erected to usable carrier form (FIGS. 8 and 9) is preferably in a plurality of successive folding and gluing steps all of which are capable of being performed by known types of automatic machines with no more than the adjustments and substitutions of parts of such machines which are necessary for their adaptation to any special folding and gluing job.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7 by which an understanding of the assembly procedure from flat blank to flat-folded and glued carton may be obtained, and directing the description to an assembly of all of the separate elements, it will be seen (FIGS. 1 and 2) that, with adhesive applied in the areas of the partition straps 11a and 11b, and to the mid portion of the partition panel 27, substantially as shown by stippling in FIG. 1, the transverse partition elements 38a, 38b, and the patch member 41 (FIG. 1d) are aflixed thereto, respectively, with the aforesaid upper edges of the said partition elements in substantial alignment with but preferably slightly inwardly of the'cuts 110a and b, and with their lines of cleavage on the cuts 39 in substantial alignment with, and overlying, the folding scores 12a and 12b as shown in FIG. 2. It will be noted that, although only the partition members 38a are thus adhesively afi'ixed, the two elements in which these members are comprised will thus be properly positioned for subsequent assembly operations. Next, with adhesive applied to the structural elements 14a, 14b and 33, and to the partition straps 11a and 11b, as shown by the stippling in FIG. 2, the elements 14a, 14b and 33 are folded upon their scores 35 and 34, respectively, over upon, and secured to, the inner faces of the handle members 9a and 9b, respectively, and simultaneously with this folding, the straps 11a and 11b are folded on their scores 12a and 12b over upon, and secured to, the respective transverse partition members 38b. Thereafter, the handle reinforcing members '21 and 22 are reversely folded upon their folding scores a, 15c and 15b, 15d, respectively, all as shown in FIG. 3. Then, with adhesive applied to the stippled areas (FIG. 3) of the flaps 7a and 7b of the end wall sections 6a and 6b, these end wall sections are folded upon their scores 5a and 5b and the flaps 7a and 7b are carried with them and secured, flat-folded, upon the elements 14a and 14b (FIG. 4) in the areas of the adhesive applied to these flaps, with the reliefs formed in the flaps by the cuts 23a, 24a and 23b, 24b enabling the flaps to nest around the members 21 and 22 and leaving these members exposed. It will be noted, also, that this folding of the end wall section 6a and its flap 7a carries with it the longitudinal partition panel 27.

Now the end wall flaps 7a and 7b are folded upon their respective folding scores 8a and 81) so as to overlie their end wall elements 6a and 6b (FIG. 4) and, with adhesive applied to a limited edge area of the flap 7a, and to the reinforcing member 21 in the areas indicated by stippling in FIG. 4, the partition panel 27 is folded upon its diagonal folding score 3-2 to the position shown in FIG. 5 in which the adhesive applied at the edge of the flap 7a and on the reinforcing member 21 will cause it to adhere to such flap and reinforcing member.

Thereafter, with adhesive applied to the exposed surfaces of the parts 90, 7a, 7a, 21, 31 and 22, and to that edge of the panel 27 which overlies the flap 7a, all as indicated by stippling in FIG. 5, the thus far assembled and secured blank is folded upon the median folding score 2 of the bottom wall la-lb to bring the two halves of the blank in register and effect their adhesively secured assembly. Finally, with adhesive applied to the exposed surface of the finish flap 18, FIG. 6', this flap is folded upon its folding score 19 over, and affixed to, the

then underlying extension 20 of the handle member 901, as shown in FIG. 7, to complete the fiat-folded assembly of the carton.

To erect the flat-folded carton to usable form, FIGS. 8 and 9, it is merely necessary to apply pressure to the folded edges A and B, FIGS. 6 and 7, until the carton is squared up, and to engage the adhesively combined hooks 25a-25b of the flaps 7a and 7b with the edge 26 of the bottom wall.

As thus set up it will be apparent that the combined partition and handle member extends medially longitudinally of the carton and its partition-forming portion produced by the panel 27 and portions of the reinforcing members 21 and 22, together with the flaps 7a, 7a and 7b, 7b to which they are all adhesively connected, extends substantially to the bottom wall of the carton and serves adequately to separate the rows of bottles at its opposite faces.

Having reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, it will be seen that when the carton is erected for use the upper edge of the partition panel member 27 is slightly below the lower edge of the flaps of the hand hole and thus space is afiorded for introduction of the fingers of one hand to take a grasp upon the handle member in line with the hand hole.

However, inasmuch as there is no joining of the two parts 16a and 10b of the handle member in line with and below the hand hole, considerable strain is put upon the parts 10a and ltib in areas flanking the hand hole adjacent to the cuts 90, 9d, 9e and 97 when the filled carrier is lifted by its handle. It is to counteract this strain, and obviate tearing in these areas, that the novel arrangement and securement of the reinforcing members 21 and '22 is provided, for they thus serve in combination with reinforcing elements 14a and 14b, not only to hingedly afiix the transverse partition straps 11a and 11b to the handle member, but also to reinforce the handle member in areas and at points where the effects of lifting strain are most prevalent.

It should be noted, also, that during erection of the carton the pivoting of the partition straps 11a, 11a and 11b, 11b will carry with them their respective pairs of the transverse partition members 38a and 38b, which part from their integral elements along the respective lines a cleavage 394il due to the pull applied to them as a result of such pivoting of the straps to which they are affixed. Thus, when the carton is erected, these transverse partition members will divide the longitudinal compart ments at opposite sides of the longitudinal partition and handle member into three cells each in which the six packaged bottles will be separated from each other by substantially full depth partitions both longitudinally and transversely of the carton, and the disadvantages inci dent to their contact, such as defacement of labels, noise and the like, obviated.

It will be noted, moreover, that, in the application of adhesive to parts to be joined during the fiat-folding assembly of the blank, adhesive is applied only to those areas of the straps 11a, 11a and 11b, 11b to which the transverse partition members 38a and 38b are attached. Hence, when the carton is squared up these straps are free to assume their functional positions between the side walls 3a and 3b and the opposite faces of the combined partition and handle member by free hinging or pivoting upon their folding scores 12a, 13a; 12a, 15a; 12b, 13b; 12b, 15b, carrying with them their respective transverse partition members, as just previously described.

Obviously, when the hook 25a-25b of the end wall structure is disengaged from the edge 26 of the bottom wall, the carton may be re-collapsed to fiat-folded condition, if desired.

Due to the rigid assembly of the elements of the longitudinal partition member, and its connection with the end wall flaps 7a, 7a and 7b, 7b which, in the erected carrier (FIGS. 8 and 9), form parts of this partition member, and due, also, to the rigid, multiple-reinforced nature of the handle member, the carrier is of extremely sturdy construction and serves well for carrying the relatively heavy load of bottled beverages or the like for which it is designed.

Moreover, in view of the fact that the carrier of the invention, while embodying a combined partition and handle member of full length and height, and full depth transverse partition members applied to the partition straps, can be constructed from a sheet material blank of relatively no greater area than that required for similar carriers which do not provide these several full partition elements, and may be produced on automatic machinery of known type generally adapted for the manufacture and assembly of such last named carriers, the carrier of the invention has advantages of function and economy of production which are attractive to packagers of bottled goods.

Although the use of transverse partition members formed in the integer type shown in FIG. la has advantages, particularly as related to the functioning of a given type of assembling and gluing machine, as hereinbefore particularly described, these members may be so formed as to adapt them to other modes of assembly with the primary carton blanks and to the functioning of other types of assembling and gluing machines.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1c, the transverse partition members may be in the form of separate cards individually and simultaneously, or successively, applied, by gluing, to the partition straps 11a, 11a and 11b, 11b, and, as shown in FIG. 1b, these members may be formed from cards which are double the size of the individual members and may be separated along medial lines m by the assembling and gluing machine prior to, or simultaneously with, their glue application to the respective partition straps. Also, it is anticipated that the transverse partition members may be formed from continuous strips of proper sheet material fed and appropriately severed and applied by the assembling and gluing machine.

Thus, although in the description of the assembly practice hereinbefore given, and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 to 7, particular reference is made to the use of transverse partition elements of the type shown in FIG. la, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto except as hereinafter particularly claimed, but rather that the assembly practice may be variously modified to adapt it to different requirements, such, for example, as may be dictated by the type of transverse partition members employed and the functional characteristics of a particular assembling and gluing machine.

The patch member 41 may be used or not, as desired or required. When it is used it will be apparent that each of the bottle compartments provides for adequate thickness of material interposed between adjacent bottles due to the lamellar nature of the longitudinal and transverse partition elements.

As hereinbefore indicated the handle reinforcement provided by the arrangement of the members 21 and 22 can be employed whether the full depth longitudinal and transverse partition members are employed or not, but it is particularly effective when such a longitudinal partition member is used by reason of the fact that in addition to the members 21 and 22 being adhesively secured to the handle members 9a and 9b they are also secured to the partition panel 27, as will be apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 8 and 9.

Various changes and modifications including, and in addition, to those particularly described, are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a flat-foldable carrier carton formed from a blank of sheet material such as paperboard, a body having a bottom, side walls and end walls, and handle means extending longitudinally of the body and adapted to be held in spaced relation to said side walls medially of the body when the carton is squared up by a plurality of transverse partition straps to thus provide between said side and end walls at opposite sides of the handle means a plurality of article-receiving compartments, said partition straps being hingedly connected at their opposite ends with said side Walls and handle means respectively, a handle-reinforcing element carried by said handle means and flat-folded thereagainst, one of said partition straps and said handle-reinforcing element being unitarily joined at their ends remote from the hinge connection of said one strap with its said side wall by a securing flap defined from them by a folding score, said flap being fiatfolded on said folding score against its said handle-reinforcing element and being secured to said handle means to connect said strap with said handle means, said folding score of the thus secured flap providing the hinge connection of said strap with said handle means, and said handle means being provided with cut means defining end edges of a hand hole, the folded edge of said flap lying in proximity to one of said hand hole end edges and the flap thus serving to reinforce the handle means adjacent to said hand hole.

2. In a flat-foldable carrier carton as defined in claim 1, a transverse partition strap of each of said side walls being joined with a handle-reinforcing element by a securing flap defined from said strap and reinforcing element by a folding score, each of said flaps being fiatfolded on its folding score against its respective handlereinforcing element, and said flaps being secured to said handle means and to each other in overlapping relation.

3. In a flat-foldable carrier carton formed from sheet material such as paperboard, a bottom wall, side walls extending upwardly from the longitudinal side edges of said bottom wall, end wall elements joined to the opposite ends of said side walls and provided with complemental connecting end flaps joined together medially of the bottom wall to unite said end wall elements in pairs at opposite ends of the bottom and side walls, handle means disposed medially of and in spaced relation to said side walls longitudinally thereof and comprising a pair of substantially similar handle members connected in rigid faceto-face assembly with each other and joined to said connecting end flaps at opposite ends of the carton, transverse partition straps hingedly connected to said side walls and handle means and serving to provide b tween said side and end walls at opposite sides of said handle means a plurality of article receiving compartments, each of said handle members being provided with a handle-reinforcing element fiat-folded thereagainst, a partition strap of each of said side walls and a handle-reinforcing element of a respective handle member being unitarily joined at their ends remote from the hinge connections of the straps with their respective side walls by a securing flap defined from them by a folding score, the flap of each of said lastnamed partition straps being fiat-foldable on its folding score against its respective handle-reinforcing element, and a partition panel interposed between and aflixed to said handle members, connecting end flaps and securing flaps, said securing flaps thus being assembled with said handle means and their said folding scores thus serving as the hinge connections of their respective partition straps with the combined handle members and partition panel.

4. In a flat-foldable carrier carton as defined in claim 3, said partition panel being provided with a patch member aifixed to it in an area contacted by the articles disposed in adjacent compartment of the carrier and serving to cushion the said panel in such area.

5. In a fiat-foldable carrier carton as defined in claim 3, each of said handle members being provided with cuts spaced longitudinally thereof and defining the end edges of a hand hole, and the affixed securing flap of each handle member having its folding score bordering one of said cuts so that said securing flap will serve to reinforce its handle member adjacent to said hand hole.

6. In a sheet material flat blank for a carrier carton, a substantially rectangular bottom wall, side walls joined on folding scores to the longitudinal edges of said bottom wall, end wall sections joined on folding scores to the opposite ends of said side walls, each of said end wall sections terminating in a connecting end flap defined therefrom by a folding score, complemental ultimately joined handle members olfstanding from the ultimate top edges of said side walls and defined therefrom and from said end wall sections by cuts, said handle members being provided With cuts relatively spaced longitudinally thereof to define hand holes medially therein, transverse partition straps defined from said side Walls by cuts and having folding scores providing hinge connections with said side Walls and handle members, and handle reinforcing means hinged to said handle members at one of the ends thereof, said reinforcing means comprising reinforcing elements flat-folda'ble against said handle members on folding scores at said handle member ends and reinforcing and securing flaps joined to them and to adjacent transverse partition straps on folding scores which provide handle-adjacent hinges for said partition straps and upon which said flaps are reversely foldable to overlie said adjacent partition straps and reinforcing elements, the last said folding scores serving when said flaps are reversely folded to position the folded edges defined by such last folding in substantially aligned proximity to 5 adjacent hand hole defining cuts.

References Liteil in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 2,026,525 Korte Jan. 7, 1936 2,829,572 Ringler Jan. 21, 1958 2,848,136 Ringler Aug. 19, 1958 2,957,602 Ryder Oct. 25, 1960 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,037,661 June 5, 1962 Lyman C. Gish It is hereby certified that ent requiring correction and corrected below.

error appears in the above numbered patthat the said Letters Patent should read as Column 1, line 65 for "January 14, 1959" read January 14, 1960 Signed and sealed this 30th day of October 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

